A Second Glance
by CodeLyoko
Summary: Thwarting another one of Eggman's plans to collect the Emeralds was a walk in the park for the Fastest Thing Alive. But something went wrong; a Chaos powered energy blast collided with Sonic and his Emerald right as he was about to use Chaos Control. Consumed by the blast, he was sent far back in time to the Ark where Shadow's past comes to light. Sonadow.
1. The Warning

So hello everyone! I must say I've been rather lazy on writing, with writer's block and what, although I've been busy with cosplaying as well. I recently got back into the Sonic fandom with playing Sonic Adventure again, so I'm having tons of nostalgia. I've always been reading fanfics again and came across several amazing fics that have to do with the ARK and Sonic being transported back. I gained inspiration from them, something I had not had in a long time, and so I just had to roll with it. This is a Sonadow fanfiction, but there's more of the emotional buildup to that, so I hope that you all enjoy it, and please leave a review if you want! They really fuel me into updating soon, especially when the next chapters are almost done, hint hint. Also going to let you know this is unbeta'ed and written in the early morning hours, so if you see a mistake, let me know so I can fix it, there's only so much I can pick up when re-reading it. Enjoy!

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><p>Sonic remembered the first time when he saw the black and red hedgehog. He had been on the run from GUN, falsely accused of breaking into Prison Island and stealing a Chaos Emerald. One of the robots they sent had gotten in his way in the streets, but the blue blur had expertly dodged the missiles and sent them back to the robot. It had been far too easy, but when the smoke cleared, something strange happened. A golden light sprang into existence on top of the robot's remains and that was when he saw him. It was Shadow, a hedgehog that called himself the Ultimate Life Form and looked almost exactly like him. The similarities were so uncanny, and the way those eyes were filled with hatred and anger… and some sort of recognition?<p>

The blue hedgehog sighed and stretched out on the roof of Tail's workshop, listening to the breeze as it blew past. Usually he didn't think too much of that incident, or even of his rival that often, but ever since Shadow's amnesia had cleared, it looked like he had withdrawn even further away from everyone, more so him than the others. Sonic's emerald eyes slid shut, frowning ever so slightly. It was strange; curiosity had grabbed ahold of him ever since then and urged him to go and find the stubborn hedgehog, but no one, not even Rouge, knew where he went. It wasn't as if anyone hated him, he did help save the world from Black Doom, even though he could have decided to destroy it. What was it about his memories that caused him to distance himself more than usual?

Briefly the inclination to simply wander up to GUN HQ and ask where he had been was present, but he squashed it quickly. He still wasn't on good terms with them and even though they had forgiven both him and Shadow's actions, he still found himself hesitant. It was a wonder why Shadow even accepted working for them as an agent, he remembered quite clearly that the Commander and he had always been at odds. He never told anyone else that his usual runs were now more geared to checking any place nearby for signs of the elusive hedgehog. A little voice in his head nagged at him, telling him the reason he was looking for Shadow was more than just wanting to race…

His thoughts were in a jumble over all of this and he quickly shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. The last time any of them had seen Shadow was his birthday party a few months ago. No one expected the dark one to show up, so it was a surprise when he was leaning against the wall behind everyone. Sonic let out a small chuckle, it was pretty funny; the only reason why he had been at the one before that was due to the Time Eater. Plus it was one of the first times he thought he saw an actual smile.

"_You know, Shadow should be glad he isn't here. I don't think he'd like the sight of you right now." Tails teased his idol, smiling as he tried to wipe off a piece of chili that had landed on him while Sonic was scarfing down the table full of foot long chilidogs. It had been a surprise from the whole group, one giant present, although everyone did give him individual gift. Knuckles wrinkled his nose, standing a bit away so he didn't have to endure being bathed in particles of chili. Sonic on the other hand ignored them, enjoying what looked like to be the world's fastest consumption of one hundred chilidogs._

"_I've seen worse." A dark voice, one that was surprisingly was tinged with humor, came from behind everyone. It was easy to say that every single person in the house had jumped, even Sonic had trouble swallowing the food in his mouth as he wildly glanced around until his gaze landed on a dark figure who was leaning on the wall in the back of the room, hidden from almost everyone's sight._

"_S-Shadow?" Sonic pounded on his chest to get the rest of the delicious chilidogs to go down the right way before he stood up, a wide smile on his face. Rogue was the fastest to recover, sauntering over to his side and crossing her arms over her chest with a slight smirk._

"_So, you did end up receiving my message after all." She said, looking proud of herself and of him for joining them. Shadow didn't pay too much attention to his companion and instead turned his gaze towards his rival, a subtle hint of what Sonic swore could have been a smile. It was only a split second, as Shadow returned his gaze back to the bat soon after looking at him._

Opening his eyes again, the blue hero sighed, bringing his arms from behind his head to rest on his stomach. Clouds drifted in front of the sun, bringing a welcoming coolness to the air around him. Still to this day, he couldn't tell if he had been imagining the smile, or it had actually happened. Shadow was not one to be so… cheery… He had been happy to see him at the party, but even before everyone had left, he had upped and disappeared. It was as if Shadow was smoke, as soon as one looked away, he was gone again. Disappointing as it was, a gift had been left on the table where the hedgehog had been near, meaning that he didn't leave without saying some sort of goodbye.

Sonic's lips twisted upwards in a smile. He remembered what had been in the small package; it was a rather surprising thoughtful gift. A few green Chaos Drives, ones he ended up giving to his Chao in the gardens. Honestly he spoiled that little thing, and boy did it start to look like him, with the blue quill spikes and everything. Even developed a taste for chilidogs… His ears drooped, the incident where the chilidog he was going to eat vanished into the Chao's mouth still fresh. Next time, he decided, he should eat before he went in to play with it.

_Sonic._

Huh, did someone call his name?

_Sonic!_

Oh please don't let it be Amy, anything but her! Couldn't he be left alone to daydream underneath the cloudy sky? Okay, never mind the fact that's what he had been doing for quite a while already.

"Sonic, we have trouble!" Tail's voice brought him back to reality. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, peering over the edge where the two tailed fox was looking up at him. Knuckles didn't somehow lose the Master Emerald again to Rouge, did he? Or break into pieces like that one time?

"What's up Tails?" he asked, jumping down as he saw the panic in the kit's blue eyes. The expression told him more than enough. It wasn't about the Master Emerald…

"Eggman, he's located the last Chaos Emerald!" The last Chaos Emerald… Feeling the green Emerald he had stored in his quills, he frowned. It had been a while since they had the emeralds together, and Eggman was up to his tricks again. Quickly doing a count as he ran after the kit to jump onto the X Tornado, he remembered where the rest of them were. Tails had three of them, he had one, Shadow had another, and Eggman had one, with the last one now being found after two months of searching.

Pulling back the cuff of his right white glove, he checked that Tail's Emerald radar was working correctly before he knelt down on the outside of the jet. Using the three Chaos Emeralds to power it, the X-Tornado shot off, drawing the energy to travel faster than before. The wind on his face felt nice, but his feet itched to be running on the ground. Every few seconds the hedgehog glanced down into the cockpit to see the bigger radar, the white and purple blips recording where Eggman and the newly found Emerald was.

According to Tails, using the speaker to talk to him, it was near the mountains over at the Blue Lake. It was awfully close to where one of the wild Chao gardens were, and he was thankful that the X-Tornado was fast enough to get there before any damage could be done. The first hint that they were heading in the right direction was a mass of metal blobs in a clearing, advancing on the sparkling lake.

Leaping off the jet while raising a two fingered salute to Tails, he decided to clash head-on with the squadron of Eggman's robots on the ground as his little brother attacked from the sky. Rolling once he hit the ground, the blue blur lived up to his name and promptly dashed through three of them before they realized that he was in their midst. A flash of light caught his eye through the large robot bodies and he saw the white Emerald on the ground near the lake, Tails diving in to try and snatch it when Eggman rammed his ship into the side of the X Tornado. He went to speed past the wall of robots, intent of sending them all flying, when…

"Oof!"

Misjudging the speed of the metalhead in front of him, Sonic was sent flying sideways. At the speed he was going, added to by getting hit by the robot, he found himself coming face to face with one of the upgraded versions. That meant Sonic was about to faceplant directly into one of the laser-headed E-144s, not something he had planned on putting on his 'to-do list' today. Before he could curl up into a ball, there was a flash of red light from overhead and something black slammed into the top of the robot, instantly destroying it. The smoke cleared as Sonic rebounded off the heap of junk to quickly glance up at the red-streaked figure who was withdrawing his fist from the metal casing.

"Looks like the Faker's losing his edge." It wasn't every day that Shadow came to his rescue, and to even see him here was strange, though he was more focused on claiming his prize than wondering about his arrival. Those words from his rival brought his trademark grin back, instantly slinging back a retort, emerald eyes shining.

"Looks who's talking. How long did it take to get here, need to wait for the bus?" With that, and barely seeing the narrowing of Shadow's eyes, he darted away in between E-141s. Trust Eggman to make the last Emerald difficult to get. Luckily his speed and tight turn ability helped him pass by most of the robots without any problems before he headed back and used his legs to knock an entire row off their now mangled feet. Their missiles and hand to hand were not as strong when they were bunched up together, something that bowed to his favor.

"You blasted fox, that Emerald's mine!"

Tails circled overhead, both trying to block Eggman from proceeding, and leveling more than half of the metal bots in three seconds. If the fox couldn't directly grab the Emerald, then he would at least try and buy time for Sonic to grab it. A laser out of nowhere incinerated the tree near to Sonic even before he had passed it, causing him to attempt to skid to a stop and speed the other way. Eyes darted over to the mech that had fired, seeing it start to charge again, he zigzagged and at the last moment spin dashed through it-

-right into a swing fist. Letting out a cry of pain, he flew through the air. Was it him or did the mechs' AI systems get increasingly better with predicting his movements? This was an off day for him; it was almost tempting to cross his arms over his chest and pout, but now was not the right time. Eggman's laughter over his plight annoyed the hero and he twisted, ready to curl into a ball to lessen the landing when something dislodged from his quills. Immediately he reacted, eyes fastening onto the green Chaos Emerald as it tumbled through the air.

Time to put it into use and show Eggy how fast he can destroy this batch of robots. His lips pulled back into a devilish grin. A bit of Chaos Control can lead everything into his favor, not that he normally used the power. Even though he relied more on his speed than anything, it couldn't hurt to use it.

His fingertips were just brushing up against the falling jewel, clenching it tightly when he heard Tails call out a warning as he flew overhead. Twisting in midair, his eyes fell upon the charging laser canon on Eggman's ship, powered by the purple Chaos Emerald. Eyes widening only slightly at not having noticed it before, his lips turned up into a full-blown smirk. Too slow Eggman, too slow!

"Chaos – "

The beam fired just before it slipped out of his mouth, energy crackling as it was sent spiraling towards him, surprising him with how quickly it had fired. And then… everything froze, the words from farther away lost in the noise of the laser and explosions. It was silent as Chaos energy halted time, a dark figure leaping towards and landing next to the blue hedgehog. Crimson eyes darted back and forth from the incoming laser then to Sonic, whose eyes had caught sight of him, but in the time locked space, couldn't do anything. Shadow simply knelt down next to him, several words being spoken only for the other hedgehog's ears to hear before he leaped away, time restarting.

The laser collided with both Sonic and the reacting Emerald, the words "-Control" being swallowed up by the resulting explosion. In shock that his idol was hit, Tails cried out Sonic's name, Eggman laughing gleefully over his success as the light from the explosion slowly began to diminish.


	2. Chaos Control through Time

So I actually finished this quite quickly, around maybe three or four days after I put the first chapter up. From now on I'll be waiting for several reviews, possibly 3 at the minimum, until I will update for the next chapter, although due to the fact I don't want to rush myself and burn myself out, I'll be updating maybe every month or so. It all depends on how I feel. I hope you enjoy the long chapter! Can you believe I rolled around laughing when I found out how long it was going to be? I wasn't try to push it that far either, I just had certain parts I had to write, and that was that. But yeah, over 5k words WHOO!

Here's a special notice, you'll find a five number code in this chapter. Whoever gets the significance (as in why I used the numbers I did), and posting it in a review, can suggest something within reason that will be happening. That means an event, situation, anything upon the ARK that you want! Answers that are sent by mail are automatically disqualified, even if they are correct. No hints for it, but it's meant to hint to a future event although if you watched Sonic X you'd understand. Don't blame me when you slap yourself and go 'ooohhhhh!' Haha! So far I plan to have this last for 23 chapters, and 15 of them are planned out so far. Also I do have the third chapter done and the fourth is being written. I may be slow after that due to having other fanfics that I keep coming up, so please forgive me for any and all slowness! Now then, read and review guys!

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><p><em>"Listen up Faker… Don't change anything when the time comes."<em>

That was all Sonic heard before the purple energy hit him and everything went black, the explosion consuming everything around him before silence hit him like a truck. He knew that something had gone wrong with the Chaos Control, and now was going along for a ride. There was nothingness for a few seconds before his body began to feel like heavy lead; moving wasn't an option, not even by opening his eyes. A powerful force hit him and sent him flying, in turn ripping the Emerald away from him, casting it off into a distant ball of brilliant light, robbing him of his only hope to ever get back to his own time. The ball of light vanished and he struggled to move, but as soon as he did, the Chaos energy that held him resisted. Agonizing bolts of pain, like a thousand tiny needles, came from everywhere. Instantly it alerted the blue blur that this was no normal Chaos Control.

The darkness moved around him, almost seeming like it was trying to crawl past his eyelids, a liquid black color that squirmed around him, alive… Then the light came, a thousand times brighter than the sun, searing his vision although his eyes were shut. And then nothing, his mind shutting down as the Chaos Control carried him to who knows where.

All that was left in his mind before he passed out was wondering if his friends were okay.

…

_"Hello?"_

What was that? Sonic's mind slowly began to stir, hearing a light voice and a soft hand on his shoulder. It was soothing, like a mother's touch, gentle and caring.

_"Are you alright?"_

His muscles twitched, wanting to respond to the kind voice and he instantly felt pain. Jagged bolts of lightning flew through his body, like every nerve ending was on fire. His head throbbed. What happened? Did he get hit by one of Eggman's robots? No… It couldn't have been, but he was fighting Eggman before right? Wait, yes, he had gotten hit quite a few times but… Then something happened, something he couldn't put a finger on yet in his pained state. His mind groggily began to clear, and his eyes fluttered open, vision blurry from the flash of light from before.

"Don't move too much! I don't want you to hurt yourself more than you already had." The voice was worried, another hand pressing gently on his other shoulder to keep him from sitting up until he was completely awake. Letting his eyes get used to the fluorescent lightning above, they instantly were attracted to a blonde-haired girl who was kneeling next to him. Her sapphire eyes stared down at him, radiating with warmth and calmness. Somehow, she looked very familiar, the name at the tip of his tongue. He tried to open his lips to say something, anything - where he was, who was she, what happened, however his body decided against that. His eyes slid shut and darkness claimed him again.

A warm sensation tickled his body when Sonic woke up again before it cooled. Soft fingers glided gently over the bruises and cuts on his skin, something akin to liquid coating his fur. Hesitantly, the blue hedgehog opened his eyes, adjusting again to the light before he realized that he was not in what had looked to be a hallway before, but now a small room with a chair and a bed. The same girl from before was holding a large jar, fingertips coated in a strange glowing blue liquid that resided in it. The look of concentration on the girl's face broke when she saw that her patient was awake.

"You're awake again, little hedgehog! I'm so relieved." She then looked down at the liquid where his eyes had traveled in question, and then chuckled.

"Oh, this? It's called a Heal Unit, my grandfather made it to take care of injured people here. It's my favorite invention of his!" Closing the jar and putting it carefully on the nearby dresser, she wiped her hands off on a towel. Not trusting himself to speak, his head still spinning, he took a look at his body to take note on what injuries he had sustained. There were quite a few bruises where his skin showed, and many cuts and scrapes covered in that glowing goo… that seemed to be vanishing into nothing?

His surprise only drew another giggle from the girl in the blue dress.

"Small injuries like those are an easy fix with the unit, I'm simply relieved that you hadn't broken any bones." The girl - oh what was her name, it was driving him crazy how familiar she looked! – explained, easing his confusion and surprise. It was then when his vocal chords decided to work again.

"What happened to me? I feel like I got knocked around a few rounds with a freight train." Sonic rubbed the back of his head, feeling the remnants of the healing liquid already drying as it worked its magic in more ways than one. The bump there was getting smaller, but it still was tender. So that's where the feeling of getting knocked around was coming from, he mused to himself. He then paused, everything was coming back to him now, but he knew he didn't have any wounds before getting swept away…

"Well, you crashed through the 48th floor of the colony out of nowhere. It was like you were shot out of a cannon, you were spinning so fast no one knew what you were. We're at the 26th floor right now, but count yourself lucky that you didn't crash through the rest of the floors otherwise you would be taking a swim in space." Sonic stared at her with wide eyes. He did what now? Man, this day was getting worse and worse. That definitely explained why he had ached everywhere and the cause of all of his injuries. Crashing through over twenty floors was not something he'd care to repeat again if he could help it.

"My name is Maria by the way. What is yours? I don't want to keep calling you little hedgehog!" Maria smiled brightly, helping him down from the bed as he got used to a strange shift in the gravity. It was only slight, but enough to tip him off that something was definitely fishy. That was when the name of the girl hit him. He knew that name.

Maria… Maria? Wait, it couldn't be that Maria! But the blonde hair, the blue eyes, that was exactly how she had been described before. This couldn't possibly be the Maria from 50 years ago? No, it just had to be a dream. Yes… Or just a coincidence that there was someone who looked similar to that Maria. Quickly wiping the shocked look off his face at the revelation of her name, he pointed to himself, his cocky grin settling into place.

"It's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Maria tilted her head with interest. It wasn't every day that she met another hedgehog other than her best friend. In the back of her mind, she wondered if the two would get along. She nodded to herself, of course they would, plus Shadow did need to have another friend besides her.

"Nice to meet you, Sonic." Maria's face was again lit up by a wonderful smile.

"Um, sorry Maria, could you tell me exactly where I am?" Sonic fiddled around with looking for something in his quills when he remembered something while trapped in the darkness in the Chaos Control. His Emerald, it had been ripped away from him. His cheeks nearly flushed before he forced himself to look around. The room was quite small now that he saw it with clear eyes. Wherever he was, he would have to stick around until he was able to find a way to get back to Tails and the others.

"You're on the Space Colony ARK. But I don't think I remember you being on the list of the residents, were you just sent up here?" The young girl had a thoughtful look on her face, going over the long list in her mind, trying to remember if there were anyone named 'Sonic' on the list. However there was the problem of no other anthromorphs, or Mobians as her grandfather dubbed them, other than Shadow, so that didn't explain where exactly this hedgehog had come from, but she pushed it aside.

The blue blur touched the back of his head, feeling the bump again and sighed. So not only did he get smacked by robots, get sucked into Chaos Control by Eggman's laser, and lose his Emerald, but he had crashed through the ARK? What else could possibly go wrong that day?

Wait… the ARK!?

Lucky for him he was not drinking any water, as the girl in front of him would have ended up soaking wet... Though then again, he remembered Rouge saying that they were thinking of sending people back up to the ARK soon, so maybe she was one of the few to be allowed up here? Yeah, that had to have been it. After all, there could be no way he was sent back into the past… right?

Seeing that Maria was waiting for an answer, and looking rather worried at his shocked look, he sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. Trust him to get lost in his thoughts when he was trying to figure things out.

"Oh, the ARK… Wow that's a big jump. Can you lead me to where you found me by any chance?" The blonde nodded, happy to assist her new friend. She approached the metal paneled door which slid open before them, Sonic following after her. Pointing to the left, she turned in that direction, heading to the right after the intersection. In front of them was a large crater that luckily had not caved in to the lower floor. The hedgehog's eyes widened at the size of the impact he left on the steel ground. Craning his head up, he saw straight up through the angled holes caused by his descent. The metal was bent and almost shredded, it had to have been due to his quills, which became sharp when he curled up into a ball.

_'Maria was right, I'm lucky to have not gotten injuries worse than I had.'_

Voices were heard above quite a few floors, Sonic able to see a few of them moving around, probably assessing the damage and working to repair it as quickly as possible. Scratching below his nose, he felt bad about causing so much damage, but from what he heard, no one had gotten hurt, so it lessened his worry. Now all he had to do was ask the question that had begun to plague his mind.

"Maria… Is it alright if I ask for your last name?" Sonic's eyes took on a serious expression as he glanced at her. It was now or never, if it was what he thought it might be, then he was in trouble, huge trouble, the kind where he couldn't just run away from. But there was only a small chance that it wasn't true.

"Of course, Sonic. It's Robotnik, Maria Robotnik." The name resonated in his mind, and he could swear that the floor just opened up and was swallowing him into a dark abyss. This could not be possible. He really was in the past, stuck without a Chaos Emerald, without any way to get off this place and back to his friends. For once in his life, Sonic didn't know what to do. 'Winging it' wasn't something he could do unless he could use Chaos Control… or stick himself in a cryogenic tube for around 50 years… Actually that option wouldn't be such a good idea. His heart began to sink.

_"Listen up Faker… Don't change anything when the time comes."_

Those words Shadow had whispered again echoed through his head, an ominous tone coating the words. The blue hedgehog frowned. Did he somehow know that this would have happened? Why did he let it happen, for what reason? He never told anyone really about his so called 'childhood'. Fuming inside, he cursed mentally to himself. Shadow could have easily pulled him out of the way, but then again it was always difficult to see what his rival was planning or even thinking at times. He truly was an enigma, but perhaps that was why he always sought the other out. Ugh, all of these questions were beginning to hurt his head.

"-nic?" Sonic jerked back and stood up, blinking at Maria when he heard his name being called. She had waved in front of his face to snap him out of it for a few minutes already. His ears, which had been lying flat against his skull, perked up and swiveled in order to show he was now paying attention to her.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, feeling guilty at zoning out. The girl didn't look too hurt about being ignored, brushing it off with a light laugh. It was obvious that the hedgehog had just been in deep thought.

"I was asking where you come from; it's obvious you're not from the ARK." Oh well that was going to be difficult explaining. Obviously 'I'm from the future' won't go over well, nor would 'Earth around 50 years from now'. Hmmm, think quick Sonic… His eyes caught sight of a long glass window at the end of the corridor and he ran over to it, pressing his hands against the cold surface. The planet spun slowly below them, the sun beginning to rise over the land. Well, there was just a simple way of putting it then. Though he had to admit, just like the first time he had visited the ARK, the view was still astounding.

"Down there." It wasn't technically a lie. He wasn't born there, but he currently lived there with his friends, and it didn't give away the fact that he was from the future. Instantly Maria hurried over as fast as she could, joy and awe in her eyes at those words. He was from Earth? There was a slight tinge of jealousy, as she so desperately wanted to visit the planet below them.

"Really? I've always wanted to go down there, to see the oceans' waves crashing against the beach, feel the shade of the trees, and to roll around in the long grass. I was born up here, so I never got the chance…" Her face, once filled with excitement, fell slightly, a longing expression showing for everyone to see. It hurt to see her like this, Sonic thought to himself. Again Shadow's voice replayed words that he had spoken before about Maria, about the disease she had, NIDS… What did that stand for again? Neu-something immune defic-whatever syndrome?

_"That's Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Sonic."_

Of course, leave up to having Tails somehow correct him even in his mind. Mentally rolling his eyes, he chuckled. Whatever that meant, it apparently left her weak and unable to travel to earth. It was depressing now that he really thought about, and seeing that expression on her face…

"It's fun to live down there, I have tons of friends, and the scenery is beautiful. You'll like it there." That sent a pang through his heart when he said those words, knowing that all along that she would die without experiencing what she wanted the most. Such a cruel fate to endure, especially for one so young…

"That still doesn't explain how you got here, but I expect you don't even know the answer." Maria smiled over at him, all traces of longing and sadness erased. It was nice of her to let him off the hook like that, he thought as he nodded, chuckling. Shadow was right about how kind and caring she was. If only there had been a way to save her, then perhaps his rival would have enjoyed life so much more. He nearly shook his head at that. He couldn't alter things here, Shadow had warned him, no matter how much he wished too. Somehow he had to hold out without doing anything drastic until he found a Chaos Emerald… or maybe two, since one usually let him going anywhere in his present time.

Suddenly Maria clapped, eyes shining with happiness as she remembered her other hedgehog friend. She wanted them to meet, she was sure they could get along! Besides, there was no way that she would let him say otherwise. Stepping back from the window, the blue blur had a hard time not giving into this girl. Her cheerfulness was incredibly contagious, even though he too was known for being very laidback and happy.

"I want you to meet someone." Maria then paused and chuckled, "Well, my grandfather too, he would be delighted to see you." Taking Sonic's gloved hand in her own, she led him down to an elevator, pressing the button to call the elevator. The small digital reader on the wall told them the elevator was only five floors above them and got to them fairly quickly. Stepping into it, Maria looked happy to see that one of her friends was in there, accompanied by one of the many scientists that populated the colony. Said scientist glanced over at her, nodding in greeting while her eyes trailed over Sonic, obviously not even registering him. She went back to looking over her notes when those hazel eyes widened, quickly glancing back at him in confusion. Sonic held up his hand, forming it into a thumbs up while he winked at her, leaving the scientist more befuddled than before. This wasn't Shadow… was it?

Meanwhile Maria was trying to talk to a small boy with light brown hair and two different colored eyes, one brown and one green. He was happy to talk to her but kept sending these strange looks at Sonic. It was something the blue hedgehog was paying attention to, frowning slightly. That expression in his eyes, it was of distrust and it made him feel uneasy. But then again… He took a closer look at the boy's eyes. They were so familiar. But he didn't know anyone from here so how?.. The elevator beeped, signaling the 23rd floor, to which Maria's friend bid her goodbye, and with one last look back at Sonic, left the machine.

Wondering which floor they were headed too, only half listening to Maria telling him that the 20th floors and above were for residential and living space, his eyes found the button console, seeing both the floors 17 and 12 being pressed. Lips parted so he could question it, but that was when the elevator stopped on floor 17, immediately asking for a password. Stepping forward and bending slightly down towards a small keyboard built into the wall, she typed in a five number password, Sonic barely seeing what numbers came up.

62742.

The doors opened and the two were let through to the 17th floor, which was incredibly clean. Sonic resisted wrinkling his nose up at it. Many of the rooms had wide glass windows to allow visitors to see what they were doing, and the sight made him uneasy. He was surrounded by labs and scientists. It reminded him too much of Eggman's bases and his urge to either destroy it or run out of there rose, but he fought it down. This is fifty years ago, Sonic, Eggman isn't around to mess with you, he thought to himself.

"Oh, there it is! Room 72." The blonde tapped on the control panel a few doors down and it slid open. She turned to Sonic to motion for him to hurry up and walked inside. Peering into the room, the blue hedgehog noticed a rather large man sitting in front a control system and a glass wall that looked down into another room. He was wearing a white lab coat and…. The mustache. Was that…. Gerald Robotnik? Blinking, Sonic stared even closer, stepping in so the doors could slide shut. Yes, there was no mistaking that white bushy mustache, he remembered the execution video back up in the ARK in his past.

"Grandfather!" The scientist was so busy watching whatever was going on the room below that he almost didn't hear his granddaughter coming in. He jerked back in surprise and turned around, obviously not have expecting Maria to come down here; Gerald always tried to persuade her not to, but she was rather insistent on seeing how Shadow was doing. Due to how back Sonic was standing, at the door behind Maria, he didn't notice him at first.

"Maria, I keep telling you that you should not come down here so often. You don't need to be at Shadow's side twenty-four seven." The old man's face showed a different story that his scolding tone told. He was smiling, almost humorously at Maria, who put her hands behind her waist, attempting to show that she no idea what he was talking about. With one glance towards the glass, he turned his full attention onto her, knowing the machine was recording what was happening below. Thinking back to the sudden shuddering of the ARK he figured that his granddaughter would have known something about it.

"Has any of the personnel told you what happened earlier? Something shook the ARK and it wasn't a stray piece of space debris. I wanted to go investigate but this had priority." A knowing look entered her eyes and Maria stepped aside, holding her arm out to display her new friend.

"Actually grandfather, he's the one who fell through the ARK but doesn't remember how he got here." Sonic stepped forward to stand next to Maria and waved, a huge grin on his face.

"Yo." The reaction from Gerald was not something he was expecting, but made him think back to everyone else who jumped to the same thing. Although he and his rival looked similar, how could one keep mistaking him, the blue blur, for a black and red hedgehog? Gawking, Maria's grandfather had jumped, and quickly went to readjust his glasses.

"Shadow? You can't be here, you're in th-…." The scientist's head whipped around to stare through the glass down into the room before him, eyes squinting from behind the lenses. He frowned and turned back around to examine the blue hedgehog, making Sonic rather uncomfortable. He felt like he was being shoved through an x-ray machine.

"Interesting… You look just like him." He stood up and did a quick loop around the new hedgehog before he sat back down in his chair. "But you seem to be just a regular hedgehog other than the strange color." Maria's eyes widened at what her grandfather had said. That riled Sonic up, about to respond that he was anything other than ordinary before he caught himself. There was no reason to get into an argument over that, they'll known soon enough what made him so special.

"I'll never understand how I'm always being mistaken for Sh…. for someone else." Sonic said, quickly catching himself from saying Shadow's name. He held up his hands and shrugged, looking lost. That was a close call, yet neither of the two had noticed. Silently he sighed in relief.

"Grandfather! How can you mistake him for Shadow? He's blue, not black, and he's obviously less grumpy than our hedgehog friend. His name is Sonic." Her voice took on a slightly scolding tone, and Gerald laughed, eerily similar to his arch nemesis. Sonic had to hide a cringe; at least it sounded less crazy than Eggman's. But then again…. How grumpy could Shadow be here? It couldn't have been worse than in the future.

"Calm yourself, Maria, I didn't mean to insult him. I apologize Sonic, but you two do seem uncannily similar to each other. Since you are here, and Maria won't stand for being kicked out, I invite you to watch the last portion of this training session. Shadow's about to advance to Level 10." Pressing a button and a few switches, he leaned into a microphone which was stationed below the controls.

"Moving to Level 10." The microphone was turned off and both an excited looking Maria and interested Sonic both approached the glass wall. The room appeared to be quite large with nothing in sight, except for a certain ebony hedgehog. Remnants of broken robots vanished from site, leaving Sonic to wonder if there were there before. Taking a ready stance, there was a loud whirring sound and out of nowhere robots began appearing out of thin air. Immediately Shadow began to home in to his next opponents, destroying them quickly with a punch or a blow from his feet. It was almost graceful of him, every move flowing into another, using the destroyed mech to launch himself towards the next one. Emerald eyes took on a curious look, this Shadow's fighting looked different than the one he knew, who was more violent, ruthless, and destructive. Gerald's words brought him out of his thoughts, glancing over at the professor.

"This is Shadow, he's what we call the Ultimate Life Form. He's overall my pride and joy of all my inventions, although he's more like a son to me." Gerald looked happy when he said that, a large grin on his face as he stared down into the room, where the robots kept showing up. From what it looked like, the room below had to have a hologram built in to mimic real robots, something Tails would have died to get his hands on. There was a slight pause after the dark hedgehog landed on a previously destroyed robot and he glanced up at the glass, knowing who was behind it although it was only a one way window. He sent her a smirk before he leaped at the remaining robots and curled up to tear through them. Maria giggled when she noticed that Shadow had glanced up.

"Ah, he always has a sixth sense in knowing if you are here or not Maria! He shows off just for you." There was amusement in the old man's voice, speaking into the microphone to remind Shadow that this was a test, not a simple practice round. The latter sped up his progress once the final group of more advanced robots showed up. Standing on the ground and glancing around, he held up his hands and a semi-transparent shield of red glowed around him before it exploded with energy, wiping his opponents out. There were a few beeps to show that the test was complete and Gerald busied himself with reading the test results.

"He's pretty good, I'll admit that." Sonic said, leaning on the glass since the other hedgehog had left the room below via a door. Maria nodded, knowing that in a few moments, her friend would show up here, faster than usual since she was there. The blue blur thought back to the last attack Shadow used, it was his Chaos Blast wasn't it? It looked like a weaker version, probably because back then he wouldn't have been able to practice with it much.

A door on the opposite end of the console slid open, Sonic not having noticed before when he entered the room, and in walked the very hedgehog he was thinking about. Shadow was fiddling with his gloves, pulling them on tighter and adjusting the red tongue as Gerald was listing off how successful the tests were going to him. However it was very clear that he wasn't truly listening to the good doctor as his ears were directed towards Maria, to which he gave off a fond smile to. Sonic blinked. A smile? Shadow, smiling? It wasn't like the split second one at his party where he thought he had imagined it, but now there was no mistaking it. This time it was there in the open for anyone to see. He glanced back and forth between the two, Maria praising how well he was doing.

Shadow's crimson eyes swept through the room, briefly glancing over the blue hedgehog so that he could nod towards Gerald to show he had heard 'parts' of what he had been talking about. He then froze, a frown coming to his lips as his gaze immediately backtracked to land on the hero from the future, just staring at him suspiciously. Sonic sighed inwardly, how many times were people going to do a double take at him? First the scientist in the elevator, and probably the kid too, Gerald, and now Shadow himself? Well at least it wasn't like those times in the city where people began to chant his name; fangirls and fanboys were something he could live without. Being a hero was scary at times.

"Oh, Shadow, this is Sonic, he crashed through the ARK and caused the tremors before. I was thinking you two could become friends! After all Shadow, you can't only stick by my side for the rest of your life." The girl looked hopeful that her stubborn friend would accept the offer and not make this into a big deal. Sonic began to answer, looking interested at the idea, after all, this could be going in a much better direction than when the two first met in the future.

"Sure I see no pro-"

Or not…

"I don't need any friends other than you Maria. He'll only slow me down." Shadow crossed his arms in front of him and turned his head away. The blonde began telling Shadow to reconsider, and to remember his manners, while she put her hands on her hips. The black hedgehog's ears fell slightly, never liking it when she used that motherly tone on him to make him feel bad. His eyes narrowed slightly and he glanced down at his feet. If anyone was really paying attention it could almost have been said that the great Shadow was pouting, although a certain blue hedgehog was having trouble noticing due to his rising anger. Gerald leaned back on the console, shaking his head in fondness like he knew that would happen. Trust Shadow to always be stubborn.

Sonic's left eye twitched and he clenched his fists together. Just his luck, he was just as arrogant when just a 'kid'! Well then it was time to show them just why he was named Sonic, and exactly why he wouldn't 'slow him down.' He pointed towards Shadow, capturing everyone's attention with his next words, a glint in his eye. Boy, this was going to be rather nostalgic.

"You think I'm a pushover? Fine then, I challenge you, 'Mr. Ultimate Life Form', to a race."


	3. Old to New Rivalry

My deep apologies for not posting this last month. I originally was going to post this on my birthday, although I did post something else, but then I was so busy with my seasonal job, a show, and a convention. Even now I am trying to catch up on much needed sleep. I'm a bit concerned that this is so rough, as I haven't touched it in a month since completing it, but I think I get the message across. Now to give a hint about that code from before, think of it as a 'password'. That may just be giving it away, but it has to do with numbers and letters synching up correctly. People of my era who had to deal with the problem of texting and waiting to get to a certain number on the number pad can get this quickly. Again leave your answer in the reviews! Oh and from now on, this and The Bonds That Hold Us will be updating much slower sadly. I've begun to develop post-con depression, aka I am so lazy and wish to be at a con again. But no worries I am working on each of the chapters! Hope you all enjoy the little race scene, it was a joy, and pain, to write!

* * *

><p>Shadow was sure that the other hedgehog couldn't have meant what he said. Sure his name was 'Sonic', but that meant nothing. There was no one here, not even the robots Gerald could build, that came even close to matching his speed. Sonic was quite pleased with the silence and shock that spread through the room after his challenge. And the surprised look on his old, or rather new in this case, rival was like icing on the cake.<p>

"You must be joking, no one can match me in speed."

"Is that a no? Too chicken to test yourself? Or worried that you'll get second place?" By the looks of the dark expression that fell over Shadow's face, Sonic was sure that his taunting had worked. The Shadow he knew would never decline a race, it's what the two lived for… And it seemed like this younger one felt the same way. Finally, he would be getting the race that he yearned for after so many months.

"Fine, but be prepared to peel yourself off the wall after you eat my dust, hedgehog." Shadow glared at Sonic, riled up at how disrespectful the other one was being. This was exactly why he stayed away from others. Did the other truly think that he would be able to win? And that grin the blue hedgehog was wearing, it somehow infuriated him, even more so in the case that he was being heckled in front of Maria and the man he considered to be his father. Maria and the professor looked at each other, concerned both at the rage that was evident in Shadow, and the fact that he had been challenged to a race.

"Forgive me for interjecting, but do you think that is a wise idea Sonic? Shadow's speed is unmatched, and I'm sure that Maria doesn't want to see you hurt." Gerald was interrupted when his granddaughter stepped forward, reaching out to Sonic.

"Your body is still healing, you can race some other time." Letting out a small laugh, Sonic reached out to pat her hand, something that only made his rival even more agitated. At the time, only Gerald was noticing how bent out of shape his experiment was getting. It normally wasn't this easy to get the hedgehog provoked, especially from the jeers that the other kids and scientists sent his way. He was reserved in front of others and hid his emotions well, and now due to Sonic, he was practically wearing that anger on his sleeve, something that was both concerning and also intriguing. Just who was this hedgehog?

"I'll be fine. My name isn't Sonic for nothing, and I'd rather prove it." Looking unsure, Maria glanced towards her grandfather for support, but was hesitant on seeing that he sighed in defeat. The old man turned around, scratching the base of his mustache while he brought up a blueprint of the ARK. Mumbling to himself, his fingers trailed over the holographic map until he found what he was looking for.

"Since you are incredibly insistent on racing Shadow, and that I happen to be curious on why you want to race him, there is an old racing track that was built for GUN's robotic maneuvering and reaction testing that had been mostly abandoned for quite a few years. It's on floor 5 however and no one goes down there too often." Sonic barely paid attention to what Gerald said, losing interest at 'racing track' and obviously not hearing the word 'GUN'. There was no way that he would back down from finally getting a race, and plus… His gaze switched from the professor over to his rival, the smile widening. There was a need for him to see exactly how well he raced back in his past.

Gerald's granddaughter sent her grandfather a half-hearted glare and crossed her arms over her chest, still disapproving the whole thing. Shadow didn't notice, but his eyes lit up slightly when the race was confirmed. He hadn't raced for a week due to the holodeck being unable to keep up with his speed to provide an accurate 'roadway', nor were any of the few surviving mechs able to even keep up at his jogging mode. Also, Gerald's 'treadmill' idea had been a horrible idea from the get-go. Maria was about to protest again but she took another look at the two hedgehogs. Shadow's eyes hadn't lit up like that in a while and Sonic was giving her a huge smile. She couldn't possibly say no to that… Sighing, the girl nodded her approval to Gerald.

Clapping his hands together in poorly contained excitement, he practically leaped off the chair and headed towards the door, powering off the holodeck. The other three followed him, Sonic being the last one due to not knowing where they were headed. Due to how the afternoon was beginning to wane, the professor mentioned that after this race they would have to be quick to grab some dinner before the chefs were done for today. Sonic couldn't keep himself from bouncing back and forth in his shoes when they entered the elevator, which was thankfully empty when it got to them. During the ride down to the 5th floor, it was more or less quiet, Gerald going over the layout of the track under his breath. To him, this was another kind of test he could put Shadow through to expand his potential, and also to let some energy off.

A bored Shadow was never a good thing to be kept cooped up. Especially that he wasn't allowed to run as he pleased aboard the ARK.

"Three doors down is the entrance. Go down the stairway and the door should automatically let you in." With those instructions said, he and Maria walked away to go to the next door down, the control room. Shadow needed no more words to be spoken, instantly walking towards the door and pushing past it, the heavy metal clunking of his shoes echoing through the small stairwell. Sighing at the other's inability to have conversations even now, Sonic took off after him, taking the stairs two at a time, only to find that his rival had already walking past the opened door and was waiting at the 'starting line', a long chipped and scuffed white line.

"You should back out now to save what little of your dignity that you have." The dark hedgehog resisted the urge to beat the toe of his hover shoes against the metal plates underneath him. He didn't want Maria scolding him when the red paint chipped off again, the shoes being a gift from her. This was the last chance for the blue stranger to back down without making himself look a fool after he is left behind. Besides, hedgehogs weren't designed for speed, well, except for the Ultimate Life Form of course. Quickly, he checked the jets below his shoes to make sure that they were not blocked and that his limiters were securely fastened to his gloves, although it was just an automatic routine checking and the latter barely ever were taken off. He never noticed that Sonic could indeed see how eager he was to race; if only the Shadow he knew was more social and actually dropped by to race once in a while… He shook his head quickly.

"Are you kidding? I'll show you why my friends call me the Fastest Thing Alive." Sonic chuckled at the last attempt to make him back down. The self-proclaimed nickname did little to unsettle the black figure beside him, only resulting in him rolling his eyes. 'The Fastest Thing Alive'? It was such a ridiculous claim… And perhaps Shadow would end up taking that title from him. Tan lips curled up into a smirk at that though, it was a very tempting idea too.

"I'll be letting you know there will be a few surprises on the way around the track. We'll make this interesting at two laps, and due to Shadow never running in this, it'll be a fair race for both of you." The good doctor at least had the courtesy to let them know about these 'surprises' although what he meant by that was lost on both the tense hedgehogs. Sonic settled down into a racer's crouch, one white glove touching the floor and eyes directed ahead in anticipation. Shadow on the other hand had one hand slightly in back of him, the other crossed over his chest in preparation to kicking off with his chaos powered jets.

A loud mechanical voice whirred to life, the static giving way to a number countdown.

_5._

"Good luck, both of you!" Maria's voice rang through the microphone.

_4._

"Don't disappoint me, faker."

_3._

"Wait, what!?"

_2. _

Shadow's smirk only increased, ignoring Sonic's shocked and insulted face.

_1. _

In the time it took for the energy to cycle through Shadow's shoes, he was forced, like always, to leap ahead, running with his own natural speed before the jets kicked in, wonderful Chaos energy powering him forward faster. He settled into a light jog, almost positive that the blue hedgehog would be far behind him already. Sonic held back, letting his dark rival skate in front of him while he leaped forward, adrenaline pumping through his veins at hearing his heat resistant shoes begin to pound the metal. He stayed behind Shadow, speeding up to match his pace right as the other looked behind. Not seeing Sonic behind him, he suddenly noticed someone running beside him, blinking in near surprise before he scoffed.

Making a show of yawning, Sonic turned around, running backwards and pulling ahead of him. He placed his hands behind his head, looking quite smug at having gotten a reaction out of the dark hedgehog. Plus seeing the way that he surprised him with both his speed and maneuverability was priceless. The race was easing his nerves, feeling as if he indeed was racing back on his home in the future, a comforting feeling as the wind swept through his quills.

"So what were you saying about making me eat your dust? Not bad for a 'normal' hedgehog, eh?" He stuck his tongue out in a childish way, loving the feeling of freedom when racing the other. It was one of the things he loved above everything. Shadow merely rolled his eyes, not falling for the taunts of the inferior life form. While perplexed on how the other could move so fast without being genetically modified or engineered like he was, the worry that he could not win was nonexistent. So he did what he figured would provoke the overly cheerful male on.

"Hmph… Is that all you've got? Your speed thus far is admirable, but you fall short of your name. Such a pity." Shadow was prepared to increase his pace to indeed make the other eat the residue of his Chaos energy, but what was said next caught his interest.

"Oh, you'll see how I got my name!" Focusing his eyes forward, his ears pinned down to his skull. He wanted fast? Well he'll show him how fast he can go! Without looking back to see what Shadow was doing, and not bothering to listen for an answer, he increased his pace, shooting off like a rocket. He felt the wind pushing past him, a resistance that he always loved feeling. However there was no time to bask in the glow of the feeling, he wanted to go past it and show them why he shouldn't be underestimated! One step faster and there was a resounding crack, the sonic boom startling everyone on that floor as he became a simple blue blur on the metal pathway.

The black hedgehog's eyes widened as the wind rushed over him, nearly causing him to stumble out of his rhythmic skating. Shock resonated him to the core, for once truly surprised. There could be no other being alive who could break the sound barrier but him! Just who was this hedgehog, who was Sonic? Narrowing his eyes, his blood pumping now that this mysterious person could actually prove a challenge and wasn't all talk, his skates exploded with more energy. Soon enough, he became a golden blur, the floor rocking again with another sonic boom.

Sonic glanced behind him at the sound, smirking as the other quickly made up the lost ground. From the way the other looked at him, it was almost like he was impressed, but the flicker of such an expression was quickly replaced by the seriousness that he came to expect. But then again...

'_Man, is Shadow always such a drag? Even when a 'kid'…. He needs to lighten up more._' Sonic thought, a frown hinting at his lips before his smile widened. He could just imagine both of the humans in the control booth staring in shock at the camera monitor that showed them racing. He looked up at the ceiling as if they could see them before he crouched down to become more streamlined. A hint of movement was all his instincts needed to duck and dodge underneath the arcing kick that Shadow sent to him. A hint of nostalgia hit him hard, leaping away as he saw the slight smirk overtake the dark one's face. His chest clenched at the thought.

'_This reminds me of the first time we raced. Though luckily this time I won't lose because he has no Emerald!' _With that thought, he curled up into a ball and spin dashed towards him, uncurling when he hit the wall, his feet landing on it to continue running. He obviously missed due to no impact, but it wasn't as if he really was trying to injure him. This was a simple warm up, the two hedgehogs testing each other to see what they were made of.

'_Too bad Shadow, I still know most of your tricks from when you're older._'

The thought felt strange to think, it was as if he was cheating. Something else came unbidden to his mind. Was this why, when Shadow's memories had been messed with, that he always felt the urge to defeat Sonic, to pay him back from knowing almost everything he could throw at him at this time? Frowning again, he suddenly felt the air whoosh and he leaped from the wall back onto the ground. Luckily he hadn't been the only one to hear that, Shadow pulling back from trying to attack him. Crimson and emerald eyes glanced everywhere. Gerald did mention surprises after all…

Except they hadn't been expecting the metal underneath them to suddenly fall to a gaping abyss of nothingness. Hearing the other swear quite a few times, causing the hero's ears to perk up, he quickly glanced around to see what he could do before he couldn't get out. Spinning to land on the nearest metal plate, he used his momentum to spin dash towards the wall and then rebound towards the other. However, Shadow was having a much different approach to the situation. Using his new rival as a landing pad, he push off of him, using the jets in his shoes after clearing the hedgehog to provide him the extra speed needed to land unharmed on the other side of the gap.

"Agh!" Even though the blue blur hadn't been burned by the jets, he still had felt the intensely heated air of them when they were activated, and of course Shadow's shoes weren't exactly comfortable pressed against his back. Crashing into the same metal plate from before, he again leaped towards the walls, going back and forth as he propelled himself over the edge and back into the race, his rival already turning the corner of the track. Gritting his teeth together, annoyed with the cheap trick, his legs kicked into overdrive.

"Oh, it's so on Shadow!"

Back in the control booth, Maria turned from the dual screens and looked at her grandfather. It was obvious that Gerald was excited over this development of another hedgehog with the ability to break the sound barrier and this being another test he could control.

"Grandfather, you're enjoying this a bit too much, aren't you?" There was a knowing smile on her face, the surprise still lingering in her pretty blue eyes. The professor laughed, a wide grin on his lips. He nodded and his fingers trailed over several buttons, waiting to press the one he landed on. It was only a matter of time before they would find themselves almost finishing the first lap. Of course he knew these simple obstacles wouldn't exactly hurt them, only slow them down. Maria sat back against her chair, once more watching the screen. It was obvious this strange blue hedgehog had impressed all three of them, and she knew Shadow was quite enjoying this challenge, no matter how hard he would deny it later on.

On the track, the two hedgehogs were both fighting for the lead, Sonic catching up quite quickly to the darker one. Attacks were traded, neither of them landing a hit as the other smoothly dodged away. Their attention on each other was interrupted as they turned the next corner, a rumbling echoing through the runway. Instantly they glanced around, wary of another one of Gerald's surprises. They passed the starting line neck to neck and a few feet away was when pillars of metal rose up to block their path. Using their quick reflexes to dodge past the first few, they were forced away from each other in order to not run into the other.

"Great, I feel like I'm at the casino all over again." Sonic muttered to himself, speeding up as he swerved around the obstacles, at one point using his speed to defy gravity and instead use the ceiling. However, he should have thought better, as Gerald obviously didn't only plan for the 'surprise' to be secluded only to the ground and sides. The casino wasn't too bad, except for that one part of needing to go through so many pinball games in order to exchange the rings he got for that one Chaos Emerald. It was fun the first few times, but every so often he would have gotten a nasty knot on the back of his head.

It was then that he made the sharpest ninety degree angled turn in his life, nearly crashing into another one of the metal annoyances. He immediately decided that he would rather go back to the casino and become a pinball rather than dodging these structures. At least when he was a pinball he was curled up and only got those bumps, compared to what he possibly could get while running at the speed of sound here. A face full of metal was not something he wanted to experience. And apparently, neither was Shadow, due to the quite obscene words that were being muttered from ahead of him.

Maneuvering back down to the floor after running on the ceiling again, he had caught sight of Shadow behind him. Time for him to 'eat his dust', he thought as he sped up. The obstacles came to an end once the looming pit from before was coming up. Slowing just a tad so that Shadow could catch up, Sonic decided to give him a taste of his own medicine from before. Waiting until they both leaped, he curled up into a ball and rammed into the darker hedgehog, watching as he landed quite roughly, jets firing more energy into the air as he tried to right himself. A dark glare was sent towards the blue blur as he left him.

Ears flattened against his skull, throwing himself forward to pick up speed. The rough landing caused by the unexpected attack had lost him the momentum he had built up over the first lap, something that infuriated him to no end. Of course, the sight that met him when he began to catch up was an amusing one. Lasers, Gerald activated lasers. Nodding to himself, he allowed him the pleasure of watching the blue hedgehog make a fool of himself as he leaped from side to side, sacrificing speed for not losing an ear. Specialized lasers that could keep up with the fast moving objects was something he was used to. Passing Sonic, he sent him a smug look before he took the lead.

However, he shouldn't have underestimated Sonic again.

Glancing back as he used his shoes to dart through the lasers, he noticed how Sonic was quickly adapting to the change in speed, using his sharp reflexes to confuse the lasers as he sprung from one side of the speedway to the opposite side. It was only a matter of seconds before that annoying blue menace was back at his side in no time, this time mimicking that smug look that the dark one had sent him right back at him. Shadow's hands clenched into fists.

The moment that the lasers ended was the finishing stretch, the last turn flying by as the two were once again straining to outrun the other. They were nothing more than blurs on the screen monitor, Gerald and Maria on the edge of their seats, but once again with the wind rushing in his fur and quills, Sonic found himself distracted. Shadow was easily seen from the corner of his eye, the lean body of his moving side to side expertly with the use of his jet shoes. This was nothing new, the blue hero had always glanced over at the ebony form when fighting or running, but he never could pinpoint when they slowly started to become more than just analytical looks. From trying to figure out where his weak spots were to in spars to simply just _looking_ at him…

Perhaps it had been when those monsters had come from the Black Comet. It was like yesterday when the dark aliens had fallen to the Earth and began destroying cities. Something in his gut told him Shadow had to be nearby, and although he didn't understand why the ebony one would have been involved, he knew that he had to find him. Sure enough, he did, and found Shadow ignoring everything that was happening around him, refusing to join up with anyone as he sought the Chaos Emeralds for himself… It wasn't until Black Doom's plans for the planet were revealed that he had begun rethinking his options. Of course Sonic never took no for an answer whenever he ran into him and had stuck around, even offering to help him find his memories. Shaking his head to get rid of those thought, he returned his mind to the race. He couldn't afford to get too deep into his thoughts.

The finishing line was coming up, barely seen on the dark metal. Neck and neck, Shadow and Sonic battled it out not in a fight, but in the strength of their legs. Pushing themselves to their limits, they streaked past the finish line, Shadow skidding to a halt with the help of his jets, and Sonic?

Sonic had failed to notice that the certain plate he ran over had come loose and tripped as he slowed down, curling into a ball as he rolled to a stop. Landing stomach first he simply stared ahead of him, blinking.

Did he really just trip? The black hedgehog sighed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fast as the speed of sound yet you trip over a single piece of metal. Not very impressi-?" Shadow trailed off when he noticed that the blue hedgehog's form was shaking not with anger at the harsh words or pain, but with laughter. He was left speechless when Sonic sat up, only to double over as he cracked up.

"Hahaha! Man that was awesome! I haven't raced like that in forever!" Happiness flowed into those eyes which lit up. Sonic paused to wipe his tearing eyes, smiling like a fool at the other, who frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't know what was going through Shadow's mind, but it felt nice just to be around him again, even if it was their 'technical' first meeting – Shadow's past and Sonic's… present? Man this was getting confusing.

Shadow simply turned around and walked away towards the door that led to the stairs, although his mind was whirling. He didn't want to admit it, but Sonic was pretty good. Similar to the other, the race had been exhilarating; his heart was still pounding from it. It wasn't every day that one met their match in speed, he still couldn't wrap his mind around it. His normally stoic look easily settled over his face as he entered the control room, the two humans beaming at him, and a few seconds later, at Sonic behind him.

Of course while Maria congratulated both of them, she was interrupted by the expected interested voice of Gerald.

"Interesting. In order to run that fast normally, the shoes had to be heat-resistant to prevent them from melting. I wonder how fast he can run without them? We could run some tests, perhaps the results will be identical to Shadow's…" The doctor's musing was difficult to miss, Shadow not too bothered by it since he heard this every day, and Maria only looking slightly exasperated. However Sonic was on a whole different page when it came to the words he was hearing. It was all too close to a certain enemy of his.

'_Don't panic Sonic… He's not like Eggman! Besides the fact he went insane and tried to destroy everything with the ARK out of revenge…'_

"Oh don't look so worried Maria, I won't harm your new friend. It'll be nothing invasive. Shadow goes through several of these tests every now and then. I simply can't help myself; this is such a fascinating discovery after all. Who knew that he could display talents? Unlike Shadow, there was no genetic modification, I'd like to see if his potential is fully reached or if it can go further. Oh nature is full of unlimited surprises and possibilities!"

'_Or not. Like grandfather, like grandson…'_

"The fact that he is a normal hedgehog makes this discovery even more intriguing. I could potentially tap into his DNA and see if there are any special sequences that allowed for this extraordinary speed to develop and where in his code that the mutation had begun in his family tree. Perhaps there are others like him who carry an ability similar to this? Oh the excitement!" Maria was attempting to calm her excited grandfather down, seeing how the words were affecting her new friend, although her actions were ignored. Shadow had finally taken notice of the way Sonic was looking uncomfortable and raised an eyebrow. Was it him or did the hedgehog start to look…. Nervous?

Oh, he could easily take advantage over this. It was simply revenge for nearly knocking him into that one laser.

'_Okay… Starting to get panicked.'_

"Don't worry Sonic, once I go in for tomorrow's testing, maybe you can get a check-up with the good Doctor." Shadow waved his hand over to where Gerald was now mumbling to himself. That did it, whatever self-control Sonic had with not freaking out, it instantly shattered.

'_Definitely panicking now!' _The blue hedgehog flinched away and instantly paled, thinking back to several times where Eggman had actually caught him, especially back on Mobius. He backpedaled until he hit the wall behind him, holding his hands out in front of him and shaking his head fiercely. It was obvious Shadow was taking utmost pleasure from seeing him panic. Payback was truly sweet to the taste. Quickly his eyes darted around to look for the exit, almost picking up his feet and zooming out there before a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking at it and traveling up the arm to see its owner, he felt significantly safer.

"It's alright, my grandfather is always like that. Shadow was only joking in his own twisted way." She chuckled as she calmed him by patting his shoulder. Indeed, when Sonic turned his hesitant eyes over to the professor and Shadow, he was surprised to see both of them, not just one, looking rather amused. Of course the latter 'hmph'ed and looked away, but his eyes told a slightly different story. The emotion was there, even though he tried to hide it.

"Alright then, but one sight of a needle heading towards my direction and I'll take my chances in space!" That proclaim of Sonic's ended up with the humans' laughter filling the room, and his nerves slowly died back down.


End file.
